Sharmarke Dubow became a Canadian citizen last year

Somali refugee Sharmarke Dubow was elected to Victoria city council in the first election in which he was eligible to vote. (Sharmarke Dubow/Twitter)

For Sharmarke Dubow, a former refugee from Somalia, the Victoria municipal elections over the weekend were a groundbreaking day — he cast a vote for the first time and was elected city councillor.

He ran under a slate called Together Victoria, along with newly-elected councillors Laurel Collins, a UVic PhD student and lecturer and Sarah Potts who works at the inner-city community centre, Our Place Society.